HubSpot: Inbound strategy tops outbound 3 to 1

The report polled close to 4,000 respondents from over 150 countries, and clearly showed that marketers prefer inbound tactics such as content marketing over more intrusive outbound strategies like banner ads, direct mail and cold calling. Seventy-six percent of B2B marketers polled indicated that inbound was their strategy of choice

HubSpot found that inbound is also the preferred marketing strategy regardless of company type, be it B2B, B2C or nonprofit, and that driving leads is the biggest challenge that marketers are trying to address through inbound. Other challenges are beginning to get marketers attention, according to the study.

"While proving ROI is a paramount concern for all respondents to this year's survey, monumental shifts are occurring just below the surface," the report reads. "For instance, proving ROI (though indeed still a top priority) has fallen in importance year over year. In its stead, finding an executive sponsor and training teams have surged in their perceived importance. Specifically, finding an executive sponsor was more than seven times as likely to be cited as a challenge in 2015 as it was in 2014, while training one's team was more than twice as likely to be cited."

The study also showed that responding marketers who tracked ROI for marketing efforts reaped the benefits of doing so down the line.

"Respondents were 20 percent more likely to receive a higher budget in 2015 if ROI was tracked in the first place, and twice as likely to see an increased budget if that tracked ROI was shown to be higher than in 2014," according to the report. "What's more, respondents were nine times more likely to receive a lower budget if they failed to demonstrate a positive ROI."

Keeping detailed records of ROI for specific campaigns makes it easier to receive more funding for successful efforts in the future.